Together and Apart
by Mistress Distress
Summary: Sequel to Tears of Fire and Love...The twins craving to know more about the war with the Fire Nation leads them to new discoveries, dark secrets, and a not so forgotten Princess. Kataang and OC pairings. I'll update soon!:]
1. What War?

_**Together and Apart**_

_**Sequel to Tears of Fire and Love**_

_A lonely road awaits me,_

_something I've never known. _

_To take with someone special,_

_So I'm not alone._

_I've lived my life with riches,_

_but they're about to end._

_Instead I'm starting a journey,_

_With my lover, with my friend._

**Chapter #1: What War?**

In a world of magical benders and crazy, cabbage loving-merchants, there lived a family. They lived in a part of the world known as the Earth Kingdom, where many earth-benders lived.

This was seven years after the almost-reborn war with Zuko and his evil sister, Azula.

They were extremely abnormal, and their was much conflict with the daughters. The Twins and Destiny always fought; but Destiny on her own side while they were ALWAYS together. Their parents, Aang the Avatar and their mother Katara, could never prevent them.

There was Destiny, who was just pushing up seventeen. She was rather spunky, and had her mother's waterbending ability. She looked a lot like her mother, with the same long brown hair, same long legs, and the same temper, but one thing she didn't share with her mother was her eyes. They were stormy gray, the color of clouds before a huge thunderstorm arrived. People often said that they saw sparks fly from them, like lightening. Her facial features looked a lot like her father's, and she often acted like him. She had twin sisters, Hope and Leandra. Leandra who looked like her father, and Hope who looked like her mother.

At this very moment, Destiny, Leandra, and Hope were in a fight. Again.

"It's NOT FAIR!" yelled Leandra angrily. "You know everything!"

"That's because I'm older," Destiny pointed out. "I've been around longer."

"So?!" Hope boosted. "Just because your OLDER doesn't mean your SMARTER. I know some things YOU don't!"

"Like what, Hopey?" Destiny brightly responded. She never seemed to really get mad at them, as much as they got mad at her.

"Don't call me that. I know a secret about that short boy you have a crush on." Destiny rolled her eyes, but could not conceal her lightly flushed cheeks. Another gift from her father.

"His name is Juan," she protested. "And no, I don't like him that way. He's just my best friend, and I know more about him than you do."

"Did you know that he likes this girl with LONG pretty hair?" Leandra added, catching on. "We saw him talking with her yesterday...and he was all red! They were..._flirting_."

"He was blushing like...Like...the sun when it sinks at night..." Hope added.

"Who?!" Destiny burst out.

"You tell FIRST." The twins said this in unison. They'd been fighting over the same concept for weeks, and finally, just maybe...They would break it.

Aang and Katara had been talking to Destiny yesterday, whispering. It had been way past her bedtime, and when the twins stayed up to hear Destiny get in trouble, they'd made out three words between the two of them. Fire and- (this next one was complicated) Azudo. They didn't understand it at all, and were now highly keen on figuring it out.

"OK, fine. But you two must never mention this to ANYONE. Understand?" The twins nodded. Destiny took a deep breath.

"There was this war-"

"Dinner's ready!" their mother called. Destiny sighed and shut her mouth, rushing to the stairs. Hope and Leandra looked at each other with shock.

"Daddy's said that strange word before," Leandra murmured in awe. "Doesn't it mean-"

"A huge fight with usually two sides, where they fight over one thing like land, food, or whatever. He told us that when we asked what he was afraid of before," Hope answered smartly.

"Oh. Don't people..." (Leandra changed to whispering form) "...die?"

"Yeah." Leandra stiffened immediately.

"That's bad..." she whispered. "Let's go eat Hope." The twins took each others' hands and raced to the stairs, already anxious about what Destiny had to tell.

"Girls, you alright?" Katara, their mother, asked from behind the counter where a huge, smoking pot of soup was being stirred.

"Yes mommy," Hope answered, letting go of her sister's hand and sitting in one of the chairs. "Just Destiny... She's in LOVE."

At that moment, Aang choked on the soup he was tasting and spat out the broth in the rubbish.

"She's in WHAT?!" Leandra giggled. Destiny hid her face from view. She could lie to her sisters easily, but never to her parents.

"The boy who lives across the street... With the light hair and blue eyes... the weird one who likes to stare at her."

"His name is Juan and he's my best friend you little-" Destiny shrunk back under the look her mother gave her.

"The firebender?" Aang prodded.

"Yes. And I'm NOT in love with him!"

"He's a firebender?!" gasped Leandra, then she smirked. "I thought he was a pretty boy with that weird hair... He's the only one I know with that colored hair!"

"A firebender..." Aang muttered darkly. Destiny rolled her eyes.

"Dad that was YEARS ago!"

"What was?" Hope asked.

"Nothing! Look," their father looked dead-white. "Let's just drop the subjects involving 'love,' 'fire,' and...'boys' if we must."

"Fine by me!" Destiny crossed her arms and sunk into the chair next to Hope.

"I wanted to sit with Hope!" Leandra protested. Destiny growled something about, 'I must be adopted,' and got up and sat down at the end of the table.

"Dinner's ready," Katara mumbled and placed five wooden bowls on the table, filling them with soup. She was careful to leave no beef in Aang's bowl.

"...You know, Des, you can't trust everyone," she told Destiny. Destiny swelled like a bullfrog before standing up.

"I've known him since I was eleven! That freaking war is OVER! I don't care if Azula's still out there, I don't CARE if he comes from a fregging firebending family! I just want to LIVE!" Destiny flipped her bowl over and ran upstairs, looking angry. Katara gave her husband a hard look before bending the soup back in the pot.

"Did we have a war with the fire nation?" Hope whispered, looking scared. Leandra looked up in alarm, fear spread across her face.

Katara and Aang looked angry.

"No! That's almost impossible. You know firebenders all over the place; do they look like they had a war with us?" Aang heaved.

"Then why did Destiny say all that?" muttered Leandra crossly.

"Maybe she IS in love!" Hope exclaimed, looking excited. "Like mommy and daddy...she wants to KISS him! Yay, I knew it!"

Aang looked furious; he obviously did not like this idea any better.

_**Author's Note**_

_**I'm back with your story! I had to have the twins at least 7. I'm sorry if it was a bit rushed, and the Azula thing was up too soon. But I couldn't just right a boring chapter about life with the family... Boringness is not my style.**_

**_Love you all! R&R and you ALL get cookies!!!!_** **_Please, please, please. I DO take flames, but they don't always change my mind. _**

_**Your favorite form of death,**_

_**-Poison- **_


	2. Through the Window

**Chapter #2: Through the Window**

Destiny stormed up to her bedroom with her fists clenched tightly at her sides, and her face wine red. This was one of the moments when her mother's features shone brightly on her face, which usually showed more of her father. Eyes already blurring with frustrated tears, Destiny slammed her door shut.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" she growled, taking a kick at her pillow, which was lying on the floor. It didn't even make it up five inches off the ground until Destiny kicked it again. This time, however, it slammed into her window with an agitated_ thump. _

Wait, pillows don't thump, Destiny observed, wiping her eyes and walking curiously to her window, putting her anger on pause. She looked out just in time to see a small rock fall to the ground, and out on her front lawn, was none other than the infamous Juan. Destiny rolled her eyes at him and opened her window.

"Why didn't you just knock on the door?" Destiny called down to him, a bemused expression on her face.

"I could here the fight from my house," Juan called back. "I didn't think your dad would let me in after that battle."

"Good thinking." Destiny kneeled down and looked at him curiously. "What is it, then?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you were OK, which judging by your red eyes, you aren't." Destiny laughed sourly at this remark, rubbing them sub-consciously.

"So does that mean you're coming up?"

"You bet," Juan answered. He looked around swiftly to make sure no one was watching before he bended a large ball of fire under him and soared upward, straight into Destiny's window. Thinking fast, she pulled out of the way to make space for him. Tumbling and tripping, Juan landed ungracefully on the maroon carpet.

"_That _was a moment to document," Destiny joked, shutting her window.

"Oh yeah, because I want the whole world to know that landing on my feet is physically impossible for me." Destiny nodded uncertainly before straining her ears to hear downstairs. She heard Leandra goofily giggle and her mother's scolding voice, but nothing that showed they'd heard Juan.

"Is it safe?" Juan whispered, looking humored.

"Most likely not, my dad will be wanting to make up in about five minutes. Plus, I don't think this is very proper."

"Well who said we were proper?" he smiled playfully. "So what're we gonna do?"

"I don't know. Talk or something," Destiny leaned her back against the wall, looking bored.

"What do you think we're doing now?" Juan sat down next to her, the same smile still painted on his face, hand running through his light hair.

"Hope and Lee don't know about the war, and they were asking me about it before we went downstairs," Destiny whispered to him, closing her eyes. Juan's face went defensive, but he didn't say anything. After awhile, Destiny noticed how they suddenly became ashamed and sorrow-looking.

"Were you planning on telling them?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, for some information." Destiny opened one eye, studying him intently. When he turned his gaze on her, she closed it again.

"What information could a seven year old provide?"

"Oh, nothing important..." Destiny blushed a little, but fought it back.

"I have to go, my dad thinks I'm helping my mom with the garden," Juan mumbled, looking unhappy for once. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Destiny answered, opening her eyes and smiling before watching him climb back out the window. Just then she allowed herself to blush and cover her face in embarrassment.

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Leandra jumped at the sound of a whoosh outside of the window. She was sure she'd just heard something, but the other members of her family didn't seem to notice.

"Daddy, what was that noise?" she asked quickly. Hope looking up at her with a confused look on her face, but turned away after her eyes flickered with understanding. Somehow, the twins always seemed to know what the other was thinking about. Nobody ever noticed this bond, except for them.

"I didn't hear anything," Aang said in surprise.

"Sweetie I think it's time for bed," Katara told her sternly, then looked at Hope. "You girls look so tired." Hope rubbed her dark eyes with an annoyed look on her face.

"Ok," Hope mumbled, stifling a yawn. "I'm gonna go upstairs now." Hope pushed her chair back and hopped off, rushing to the stairs. Leandra looked at her questioningly before following behind. They still had a few more questions to ask.

* * *

****

Well it's short but I needed to write this to get their relationship out there. I'm starting to wonder if anyone will ever read this story, because so far I only have 5 reviews! Come on ppl I have more for all of my oneshots!!!

-The Drink of Death


	3. Dramatic Departure

**Chapter #3 Dramatic Departure **

Leandra and Hope were standing outside of Destiny's door, staring at the oak entrance with eager yet nervous faces. Hope's was more eager than nervous. Leandra's was more nervous than eager.

"I don't think we should startle her... she'll be angry at us for not defending her," the small girl that was Leandra whispered. Hope shook her head vigorously, a determined expression that Katara often wore now printed on it.

"And I don't think we should wait any longer. Come on you great wuss," Hope grabbed Leandra's small hand and tugged her into their older sister's room. Destiny was lying back on her bed, arms hanging out off the sides. A blank look was painted on her face to hide her emotions, a look the twins had seen many times. The same look she had on her face when they teased her about Juan.

"Destiny, we need to finish our story," Hope said quietly, yet a flicker of confidence ringing deep the murmur like an aflame candle.

"Y-yes," Leandra piped up. "We were hoping that you could tell us about-"

"Stop," Destiny said, closing her eyes. (The girls looked at each other in alarm.) "I don't want to hear it."

"Why not? You were going to tell us anyways!" Leandra shot back, nervousness gone.

"Well I thought about it," Destiny mumbled, turning over so her head was buried into the pillow. She looked quite distressed...and quite tired.

"So that's it?" Hope's question seemed to have silenced Destiny. Hope, however, wasn't done.

"So you're going to just leave us hanging like a pair of wet socks?" she snapped.

"No," Destiny finally croaked out. "I'm going to tell you one thing." Leandra excitedly planted herself onto Destiny's bed, grinning broadly. Neither of the twins seemed to notice Destiny's depression, or her discomfort. All they saw was one last statement that would hopefully answer at least one of their many questions.

"Zuko will help you," Destiny whispered before drifting into unconsciousness. Leandra rolled her eyes to Hope, looking unhappy.

"This mysterious Zuko," she muttered, "we need to meet him."

"How? Mom and dad aren't gonna help us. And we're only seven. There's no _way _we could do anything!"

"Ah, but you've forgotten," Leandra whispered wisely. "I am the second to last airbender."

Hope snorted loudly, but still not stirring Destiny, who seemed to have died. This was true; they were both benders. Powerful ones, Katara their mother had once said. Somehow, she already had known that her twin girls would be powerful benders- but the girls hadn't been so curious back then, and had acted like nothing had happened. However, they never forgot anything, never.

"So? What's that suppose to do, transport us to the fire nation? I'm an earthbender, but it's not like that means I can do anything I want. I couldn't even bend a pebble at this age." Hope sighed and walked over to the door, pausing to look at Leandra. She looked rather put-out, but still determined.

"We need to run away!" she insisted. Hope froze, but then her face split into a broad smile.

"You're a genius Lee!" Hope said, flinging her arms around a rather stiff Leandra. "When though? We haven't got any food... should we leave tonight?"

"Yeah, so we don't get caught or something tomorrow. We can nick some bread and fill our canteens with water... and then board onto a trading ship that's going to the Fire Nation. It'd be perfect!" Hope let go of her sister and smiled with admiration.

"So we're running away, tonight?" Hope asked her to clarify what she'd heard.

"It's our only option," she whispered sadly.

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Destiny had heard it all.

She'd feigned sleep in order to hear what her sisters were planning, and of course being the good actor she was she'd succeeded. After the girls had bustled away, excited and keen, Destiny had been left to think.

She knew she'd have to stop them. Her parents would blame her for their disappearance as always, resulting into being dragged on some pointless trip to go trailing after her sisters. The truth was, Destiny was becoming rather bored. Her parents had jobs so she was always stuck babysitting, they had the same thing practically every night to eat, and let's face it; poor Destiny's only real form of excitement was her best friend Juan. And the only reason he hadn't been eliminated from her boring life was because her mom was understanding enough. Aang, however, seemed to feel that no older than sixty was the perfect time for marriage; preferably when he was as good as dead.

So, Destiny was quite tempted to just let them leave and then go after them. _Too bad I have a conscience, _she thought. Climbing out of bed, Destiny tiptoed to her sisters' room with baited breath. But they were asleep.

"Damn," Destiny muttered. They seemed to be sleeping under their covers, lying still- too still. Noticing their inactivity, Destiny slowly crept up to Leandra's bed and peeled the quilt away. What should of been the sleeping body of Leandra was two well shaped blankets, knotted into a bundle that resembled her well. Her breaths now slow and anxious, Destiny checked and saw that Hope's were the same.

A cool breeze swept in through the opened window, which Destiny was just realizing was opened. She shakily walked up to it, and scanned the ground for any signs of her missing sisters.

They were gone. Shock and fear choked her chest at once, and in seconds Destiny was on the wooden floor, sweating horribly. Maybe an adventure wasn't such a good idea after all.

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"Ooh Aang yes..." Katara moaned into her husband's ear as their evening sex finished. Katara and Aang were now breathing deeply, sweaty yet satisfied. A pair of shining gray eyes met a pair of deep azure ones, and small smiles appeared on the parents' faces.

A crash upstairs jumped them both, breaking their moment and causing them to scrambled for their clothes in desperate attempts. (Katara pulled a shirt on and Aang a pair of pants.) They rushed up the stairs to find out what the crash had been about, and to their shock, they found Destiny on the floor in the twins' room, lying in a pool of moonlight that was coming in through the opened window.

"Destiny!" Katara choked, collapsing next to her eldest daughter and checking her pulse. Aang sat down as well, noting that Destiny had beads of sweat running down her neck and a look of terror pasted on her face, even though she was unconscious. However, she seemed to be fighting it.

"Hope...Leandra..." Destiny whispered hoarsely, her eyelids lazily forcing themselves upward.

"Where are they?!" Katara shrieked, looking wildly around the room. But it was too late; Destiny had gone unconscious once more.

"Destiny!" Aang said loudly, lifting her into his arms. He looked at his daughter with confusion in his eyes.

"What just happened?" he whispered to her, his face half hidden in shadows, half soaked in moonlight and sweat.

"The girls disappeared and Destiny fainted while we were having sex downstairs is what happened," Katara whispered, meeting his eyes. They both looked down at their daughter.

"We'll look in every room in the house to find the girls- " Aang swallowed- "and if we can't find them, we'll start looking ourselves."

_**Hey I'm back. I had some sort of Writer's Block for awhile so I'm sorry for the suckiness of this chapter. However, I swear that I'll finish this story! Oh and I think I might be failing social studies because of my writer's block nervousness... So... this will be finished during summer vacation or later. But I'll update more**_.

Top 10 reasons why readers don't review:

_**1. They hated the story and don't want to be mean **_

_**2. They're too lazy to log in**_

_**3. They're too overwhelmed at the goodness **_

_**4. They secretly don't know what to say**_

_**5. They don't want to seem stalker-ish **_

_**6. They reviewed many times already**_

_**7. They forgot to log in **_

_**8. They're reading this over someone else's shoulder**_

_**9. They ARE stalkers but they don't want to be noticed **_

_**10. They are slow typers**_

_**READ AND REVIEW FLAMES OR KUDOS I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!!!**_

_**The Black Death,**_

_**X Poison X**_


	4. Barrels and Tears

**Chapter #4 Barrels and Tears**

Aang wasn't taking the loss of his daughters well. He was sitting against a stone wall at one of the village's homes, slowly bringing his head forward. _This is all my fault,_ he thought miserably before bringing his head back quickly with a _smack_! _I should have told them now...they were ready! _

"Aang, stop hitting your head!" Katara hissed from his side, a hint of desperation in her voice. Destiny blinked at her father with no hint of their normal amusement left.

"Where do we have left to check, dad?" she asked Aang with all seriousness.

"The rest of the earth nation, the water nation, and the fire nation," he mumbled stubbornly. _And you call yourself the savior of the worlds! The master of all four elements! _His brain snapped at him. How was he a savior if he couldn't even track his own daughters?!

Meanwhile, Destiny was pondering on what he'd said. She remembered the extremely vague hint she'd given Leandra and Hope...Zuko... Zuko was in the fire nation! And Hope was outgoing enough to be able to question around for information on Zuko. They could be at the Fire Nation! But something else was making Destiny doubt telling her parents her suspicion... the part of her that knew her sisters had a good reason to run away...the part that thought they should know. And maybe she could convince Juan later to help her find them... Without her parents of course.

"So let's check some nearby villages. But Aang..." Aang looked up at Katara curiously. "If they don't want to be found, there's nothing we can do." Aang sighed recklessly but they said no more.

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"Hope!" Leandra hissed from her cramped position. She waited her sister's answer. The two girls had stowed themselves into empty rum barrels on a ship that they knew was going to the fire nation.

After they'd esca- left their house, they'd gone through the village with their pockets loaded with coins stolen from their parents' room. They'd paid some small 12-year-old boy to tell them who Zuko was. The small boy had told them that he was some powerful firebender, but he would only tell then for a gold piece what position he ranked. They had needed the rest of the money for later, and since they already knew where to look, they hadn't badgered the boy on anymore. Afterward Leandra had asked why they hadn't just asked an adult, but as Hope had pointed out, the whole village knew who they were and would be quite suspicious of them walking around the village at night unsupervised.

"Yeah?" Hope whispered from the barrel next to her.

"When do we get to stretch our legs?"

"Why? Getting bored already?" amusement crept in Hope's whisper.

"No, I'm just getting a little cramped is all." Hope snorted, but answered all the same.

"Tonight. The sailors will be in bed." Leandra nibbled from her slice of bread in silence, thinking about what they'd done. Run away, stolen, bribed, stowed away on a ship, and soon they'd probably have to lie. She felt like a criminal, but somehow she was loving the adventure.

She smiled to herself before curling up in a ball, and waited for the night to come.

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"We're never going to find them, mom," Destiny mumbled, crossing her arms. She was sitting at the dining room table at their house, trying not to sulk without success. Katara buried her face in her hands and Aang rubbed her back consolingly.

"My poor girls... kid-napped...runaway... I just wish we knew how they'd gotten away! Kiddnapped or- or-" Katara wailed, and megan crying into Aang's chest. It hurt Destiny like hell to see her mother so distressed, but she had to stick to her plan. She had to be strong for her sisters and hope they found what they were looking for.

"They take after me," Aang mumbled with an ashamed look on his face. Destiny blinked; her father had run away more than once.

"D-don't blame y-yourself, Aang..." Katara choked out, forcing herself out of his chest. She looked very disturbing; her face was chalk-white, her azure eyes watering and blood-shot, and her hair was sticking out in all directions. Aang looked no better with his heavy bagged eyes and his stubbled chin. Destiny shivered in horror at what their panic was doing to them.

"They'll be back, I have a feeling they're just looking for answers... and when they find them, they'll be back," Destiny told them uncertainly, but she hid what she was feeling well.

"But what if they find out..." Katara whispered to herself, "that your father is the Avatar?" Destiny looked at her mother with confusion.

"Don't they know?"

Aang looked away, pain twisted on his face. He shook his head. Destiny couldn't help but feel angry. All this time... and they hadn't even told their daughters?!

"What!" Destiny shrieked, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "WHAT?!" They just looked at her tiredly. "You mean to tell me that you kept this AND the war away from them? What did you think that it'd just disappear?! Look around you! Azula has been missing since the war ended, and they're out there now, without even knowing a thing! I can't believe you couldn't even tell them..." Katara burst into tears once more, and fell into Aang's arms. Even his eyes were watering.

"Azula could find them alone in the woods for Yue's sake!" Destiny stomped to the door and yanked it open, heart beating wildly and fear stinging her. "Don't look for me later." With that last statement, Destiny was out the door. But that wasn't the last thing that they herd her say.

"I'll find them myself." What great parents they were turning out to be.

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The night had come faster than expected, and the sailors retired early, giving Hope and Leandra awhile to plan and stretch their legs. Leandra and Hope had slept for a good two hours, and for them this was pretty good.

"This is insane," Leandra muttered, looking out at the surrounding ocean.

"We're insane," Hope corrected, helping herself to a drink of water from her canteen. It was still half full.

To their surprise, it was full moon. Destiny's favorite time of month. She'd always sneak out at night to waterbend, and told them that if they didn't tell she'd tell them stories. Usually they were about the Avatar and his life. She never told them the things they really wanted to know, however, like what his name was or what type of bender he'd been before they told him he was the Avatar. Or if he ever fell in love and had kids.

"Do you think we have something that makes us powerful?" Leandra asked Hope after she'd thought for awhile.

"Like the moon and Destiny?" Hope guessed.

"Yeah." Hope shrugged and looked up at the moon as well. Yes, they knew they were benders. Although they'd have to wait several years before training, Hope and Leandra were passionate about bending. The only time it ever showed, however, was when Hope was angry or Leandra sneezed. (Hope through a lot of tantrums).

"Well, I guess the sun and the moon help fire and water benders, but then the grass and the air help us. Maybe... we're more powerful around mountains or something like that." Leandra looked around her to see if anyone was watching, they weren't.

"You know what's ironic?" she mumbled.

"What?" Hope answered, unconcerned.

"I have to- to- Ahhh... AHHH CHOO!" Leandra flew about twenty feet in the air, hands waving and legs kicking as she looked down.

At the water.

And fell.

_**Author's Amazingly Awesome Note**_

_**CLIFFY! SCREAM IT LOUD AND PROUD! **_

_**Thanks for the reviews; but was this chapter any better? Sorry about that! But there will be more explanations in later chapters**_

_**-Poison**_


	5. Thieves and Enemies

**Chapter #5 Thieves and Enemies **

"Oh my Gawd!" Hope yelled. "Oh my Gawd, Oh my Gawd, Oh my Gawd, Oh my Gawd!!!" Hope watched in horror as Leandra began to fall, slowly and dramatically towards the water... she couldn't swim... she'd drown for sure...

"Somebody save her!" Hope whimpered one last time before shutting her eyes.

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Leandra watched in shock as the water became closer and closer to her- she was going to die. She told whoever would listen that she was sorry she'd run away, sorry she'd become a criminal, and sorry that she wasn't going to live to see the age of eight. She'd never fallen in love- she was sorry for that, too. Now, as she helplessly let herself fall, she realized something:

She was a bender.

Using all of her strength, Leandra pushed the air below her, and somehow it worked. She shot upward, above the boat, but what did this mean? Now how was she suppose to land?

Taking in a deep breath, Leandra swirled her arms around as she fell, creating an air ball. She held on for dear life as she ascended downward, until landing gracefully on the deck. Hope didn't notice; her eyes were closed and her mouth was moving a mile a minute like she was praying for safety.

"Hey Hopey, you alive?" Leandra asked her sister cautiously. Hope opened one eye, her praying ceased, and slowly came back to earth.

"You're alive!" Hope breathed in relief, quickly hugging her sister awkwardly. "I thought- you- in the air... But you bended! _Three _times!"

"The first time wasn't on purpose, believe me," Leandra said honestly. Hope nodded in agreement before turning at the sound of a shout.

"Who're you two gals?" a shadow yelled from the door of a cabin.

They'd been caught.

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Destiny was behind Juan's large house, hands buried in her hands.

She sighed to herself. She'd been outside of his house for nearly an hour, yet she still didn't have enough courage to knock on the fucking door. She sighed again, miserably.

What a coward she was!

"This sucks balls," she muttered unpleasantly.

"Such language!" a voice from a window above her yelled down to her. Destiny quickly looked up to see Juan with his dark hair and bright eyes watching her from his bedroom. "Why, I believe you've been there for awhile now, haven't you Des?" Destiny shrugged, trying and failing to be indifferent.

"Can you manage to get yourself up here?" Destiny smiled when she remembered his bending trick to get up to her window. She might just be able to do that, using the water from Juan's backyard pond... Yes, she'd try.

"Manageable," Destiny nodded, positioning herself with her arms close together and feet spread like her mother had taught her. Breathing deeply, she bended a stream of water from the pond and leapt into the air. She pushed the water under her just in time to hurl herself into his window, barely landing on her feet.

"You could have just used the front door though," Juan added with amusement. "My parents aren't home." Destiny shook her wet head, drenching her friend.

"Thanks a lot," she muttered, "bastard." Juan laughed happily and tussled the hair on top of her head.

"That's what I'm here for. Now what did you want? You never come over. I thought you didn't even know where my house was!"

"Well... you know how my sisters wanted to know all about the...war?" Destiny said uncomfortably.

"Yeah..." Juan nodded, unsure of where she was going.

"Theyranawaytothefirenation!" Destiny yelped at him, for the first time glancing around his room. His bed was large and comfortable looking and a dark blue quilt rested on top of it. His walls had wooden panels going all around the room, making her feel rather cozy for some reason. His carpet was the same shade of blue as his quilt, his wardrobe was made of dark wood that had been polished and carved skillfully, and he had a large collection of books in the corner. Juan was practically spoiled to death, but he didn't flash his money or show off what he had. His room was fit to house the earth king himself for as far as Destiny was concerned.

"They- what?" Juan blinked at her. "Sit down. You look kind of overwhelmed." Destiny collapsed onto his bed, eyes closed. Juan watched her with interest.

"Hope and Leandra ran away from home last night, and I think they may be on their way to the Fire Nation," Destiny started. "They're looking for Zuko, the Fire Lord, but they don't even know that he's the Fire Lord. Hell, they don't even know that Aang- my father- is the Avatar. And to top it off, it's my fault they're looking for him."

"Why is it your fault?" Juan asked quietly, collapsing next to her. Destiny felt her heart speed up a bit at this, but she ignored it.

"I told them that Zuko could answer their questions. He was there, and besides Azula he's the only one that was there that would actually tell them. Tiny, a friend of the family, now lives with Sokka my uncle and Toph my aunt in the South Pole, and they'd never tell them because they agree with my parents that they shouldn't know yet. My parents think they're too young, I can't tell the story without getting too emotional, and well... there's no one in the village that truly understands." Juan stayed silent for a moment.

"Does your parents know you're here?" he finally asked.

"I kind of ran for it after telling them off," Destiny admitted, blushing lightly. Juan laughed at that, causing Destiny to open her eyes. She noticed his closeness, yet... He only wants me as a friend. Well, she'd never know if she didn't ask!

"That's pure you, Destiny. Tell your parents off then huff to your friend's house," he commented. "Classic Destiny."

"Did your dad fight in the war?" Destiny whispered, looking sideways at him. Juan sighed, his happy mood disappearing.

"I'm not sure. He gets distant when we talk about the war. But I think he was a general... I found a picture. You've seen my dad before. He's great, but... I don't know..." Juan looked back at her.

"What's his name again?" Destiny asked him mildly.

"Zhao."

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"Who are you two gals?" the man called again. Hope froze in horror, while Leandra tensed up like a cat who'd just been sprayed with water.

"I'm...uhh... Makini," Hope lied quickly. "And this is my sister... Mala. We're twins, and we were heading home to see our father Zuko in the Fire Nation." The man chuckled at this.

"Lookee here, gals. I can tell you ain't the daughters of Zuko. He onee had two children, Rose and Michael. But I tell you what," the old man looked at them happily. "We're all pirates ere'. I can give yas a break for we get to the Fire Nation. Just keep your mouths shut, aight?" Forcing themselves not to giggle at his voice, they nodded.

"Just one question then, though... You an airbender?" he asked Leandra with interest. Leandra nodded.

"And I'm an earthbender," Hope told him.

"And you're twins?" he asked. Leandra nodded. "So you'll be the Avatar's daughters, right?" Hope looked at him with confusion while Leandra seemed to have been silenced.

"No. We're orphans," Hope said quickly. The man nodded, smiling at them again.

"G'night." He slipped back into his cabin, laughing to himself. Leandra turned to Hope with a confused expression.

"This is a pirate ship?" she asked her quietly.

"I was more concerned for his sanity then whether or not this is a pirate ship or not. That Avatar comment was weird..." Hope mumbled, scratching her head.

"Let's just sleep," Leandra muttered.

**You know you LUVED it!!! Pirates and Zhao! Ohhh what now??? **

_**Oh and I'd like to thank you for your ideas and reviews!**_

_**The Death with flavor,**_

_**Poison**_


	6. Destiny and Juan

**Chapter #6 Destiny and Juan **

"So he taught me everything I know about firebending... he's the greatest father I could ever ask for... but sometimes I feel like he's on a different planet. Away from my mom and me," Juan finished, looking sideways at Destiny. "It's strange. Sometimes I ask him if he fought in the war or not, but he just glares at the floor or whatever." Destiny blinked and looked back at him. His eyes were bright, and sad. They made her want to comfort him.

"His name sounds so familiar, though," she whispered, closing her eyes and racking her brain to remember. Her brain showed Destiny and her mother sitting on a stone bench outside of the Fire Nation's palace... her mom telling her about the Avatar and his bravery in the North Pole... and nothing more.

Juan brought her back to earth, his voice soft and confused.

"Des, do you ever think of us as more than friends?" Destiny quickly opened her eyes, noting the dead serious look on his face and faint flush of embarrassment.

"Do you?" Destiny murmured, opening her eyes and watching Juan closely.

"If I didn't, why would I ask?"

"That's a good point... well, yeah I guess I do sometimes..."

"As in you still do?" Did Destiny just imagine that look of hope on Juan's face, or did he really like her that way?

"This is so weird... but... I guess I do still think about us... together," Destiny looked at Juan, embarrassed.

"That's..." Juan reached out and stroked Destiny's cheek gently. Destiny shivered again, but this time in a state of pleasure. "Interesting."

Destiny bit the inside of her cheek. "Bu-"

"Juan! We're home!" A gruff, irritable voice yelled. It sounded deprived of sleep. Juan froze. Their position on the bed did not look good.

"Hide out back. I'll be out in five." With that, Juan leapt out of bed and ran into the hall, disappearing. With a depressed sigh, Destiny hauled herself to the window, glaring daggers at the ceiling.

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"Haul the booty to the Captain's quarters!"

"Stash it fellas or we'll feed yeah to the sharks!"

"Go boy, go get me some rum!"

Hope closed her eyes tightly. The random demands for rum and pirate-talk seemed to come from every possible direction. Somehow, however, she wasn't afraid. She actually liked the vibe she was getting... and she was getting curious about the whole rum conquest.

"Aye, Land-Hoooo!" the Captain yelled. Hope opened her eyes, surprised. They were there already???

"Lee! You hear that?" Hope whispered to her left.

"Yeah," a faint reply came.

"We're going to meet Zuko!" Hope continued. "I can't believe it!" But it was true. In a few minutes, the Captain announced that the Fire Nation's shorelines were visible. Hope couldn't contain her excitement. The Fire Nation!

In a few hours, they sunk the anchors and the Pirates left the ship tied to the beach. Hope and Leandra waited patiently, in case they met up with an aggressive pirate who didn't like landlubbers.

"You gals all aight?" the friendly Pirate questioned, his voice grave.

"Yes, thank-you," Hope replied, pulling herself out of the barrel. Leandra followed suit. the old pirate watched them, stroking his chin with his pointer finger and thumb. They noticed his beard was wiry and gray, he wore the shabbiest clothes they'd ever seen, and he had on huge boots.

"What's your name, any ways?" Leandra asked him.

"Boots."

"Boots? What kind of name is Boots?"

"The kind of name you get when you step on a perfectly healthy man's gut and he dies in about thirty seconds. Me boots are the biggest and best ones yall ever find."

"So as pirates you- kill people?" Hope asked him, no disgust or awe on her face. Only curiosity.

"Well ya gally! When men defend their booty we gotta take action. Otherwise, we wouldn't GET any booty. Ya don't just ask a man politely if he can have that chest of gold. You gotta fight and kill for it!"

"K-kill?" whimpered Leandra, her knees shaking. She couldn't imagine ever killing anybody. Unless she was defending her life or Hope's.

"It happens," Hope shrugged indifferently. "We all die."

"You sound like a gal of the sea, gal!" Boots said happily. "How old are you?"

"Seven," Hope admitted. "But my sister Destiny teaches me lots of stuff that our mommy doesn't like!"

"Well, in maybe ten years you can join us. Now, you have a destination I believe. Go on, get yer hides outta here!" Hope and Leandra nodded quickly, rushing off the deck. Climbing off the ship using the rope ladder, they ran to the village.

"Wow, it looks just like our village!" Leandra exclaimed. "Except for that big palace place..."

"Let's just ask around for Zuko," Hope offered, pulling Leandra by the arm to an elder. She had long, white hair tied back into a single braid. Her eyes were soft, and her robes were the Fire Nation color: bright, flaming red. Hope thought if she touched them, her fingers would be burned.

"Why hello girls, you look lost, may I assist you?" the woman asked them tenderly. "Did you loose your mother, hmmm?"

"No, ma'am, we were looking for a man named Zuko," Hope said boldly. The woman jumped back.

"You look foreign girls. Where are you from?"

"The Earth Nation," Leandra said quickly. The woman smiled at the words, biting back laughter.

"Well, I hate to be the one to disappoint you, but I don't think The Fire Lord has time to talk to youngsters."

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Destiny glared into the rose bush she was hidden behind. She felt so stupid.

Juan hadn't come to see her yet, and she had the slight suspicion that he wouldn't be coming any time sooner. However, as another hour ticked away, his window open and he leapt.

Stifling her gasp, Destiny watched as his graceful motion slowed, and he swirled fire around himself until he hit the ground, hair wild but not a bead of sweat visible.

"Finally," Destiny grumbled from behind the bush, wedging her way out. "I have to leave."

"Why?!" Juan asked her in shock.

"Uhh hello? Sister rescue mission?" Destiny crossed her arms. Juan took a breath.

"Don't you need someone to come with you?" he asked her quietly.

"After waiting for three hours and picking thorns out of my butt? I'm a big girl Juan, I can take care of myself. Thanks for your offer, but I have to go get my sisters." Destiny was about to turn around, but Juan placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Des, I want to come. Not to watch over you or anything, but to help you get your sisters, and... well, I guess I'd miss you too much if you left. I have a feeling you won't just be gone for a day."

"Thanks but no thanks," snapped Destiny, but in a softer tone that indicated she was thinking.

"Des... please?" Destiny sighed. How could she say no to that face? Hours spent waiting behind a bush or not, she'd take a bullet for Juan. (Even if she didn't know what a bullet was.)

"Fine. But behave." Destiny joked, ruffling his hair. Juan blushed again, but she took no notice of it. She looked up at his window, thinking. "Oh yeah...and I need to ask you a favor."

"Shoot."

"I kind of left my house in a rush, and I have no food or clothes or... anything really."

"Well I have a few old shirts you could borrow, and I have some money saved... And I guess I could nick some food from my parents." Juan smiled lightly. "So I guess this means we're going on some type of adventure?" Destiny laughed lightly. She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together.

"Thanks Juan. And yes, I think this is going to be an adventure..." She kissed his cheek happily, which of course, resulted into another blush.

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"So what's the plan?" Leandra asked Hope, putting her hands on her hips and yawning.

"Don't do that! You look freakily like Des!" Hope snapped at her, covering her face with her hands.

"What's the plan?" Leandra asked again, ignoring her sister's comment. Hope sighed behind her hands, thinking. After a few seconds, she put her hands down from her face, and the fairly annoyed expression she wore was visible.

"That elder said he was the Fire Lord, Lee! How in the name of heck are we suppose to question the _Fire Lord?!?!?!?!?!?!?!_" She threw her arms up in the air. "No 'lord' is going to listen to two seven year old girls!"

"But he might listen to the Avatar's daghters," Leandra whispered, grinning broadly. A new plan was forming in her little evil head, a plan that would introduce them to Zuko, the Fire Lord.

_**A/N**_

_**Hahaha Here's a sneak peak of chapter 7...**_

_**Zhou thundered on the wooden door before stepping back and waiting for Destiny's parents to open up. This could not end well. **_

"_**Yes, I'm coming!" screamed a furious mother. The woman stomped to the door and whipped it open, glaring at the floor.**_

_**When Zhou saw who the woman was, his jaw dropped. Katara followed suit.**_

"_**Y-you!" she yelled. "Aan-"**_

_**Yay! **_

_**O yes, PLEASE PLEASE PLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ REAND AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**_


	7. Author's Note I'm sorry all!

Author's Long Lost Note

I came back to check on my old account and look what I found... people actually still read my old work.

the thing is, after I read through this sequel, I couldn't help but dislike it. I wrote it awhile back, and have a lot more experience now... my new account, Lady Wolfy, seems to be heading in a better direction.

So I'm not deleting this, but I'll give you all a brief summary of what I planned on writing and hope you all forgive me for not continuing.

Zhoa, Aang, and Katara were going to team up to get the daughters up, an unexpected twist, but later Zhoa would turn on them and try to take the place of the Fire Lord. Of course, the girls, Aang, and Katara would prevent this, thus ending in a happy ending, when the twins know the whole story. I didn't plan on writing a third.

But I'm not continuing this, sadly. I've taken Kataang from a different angle, and this seems a little pathetic, looking at the girl's names... Hope and Leandra are actually my two best friends, and dedicating them to seven year olds seems really dumb. However, TOFAL is pretty ok as far as I've seen. It was my most successful fanfic.

So maybe read my fanfic on Lady Wolf, Love Me Like the Wind. And please forgive me.

-The Author


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